Cops: Lansdale man assaulted woman, chased her to police station

LANSDALE — An alleged domestic incident that at one point spilled into the lobby of Lansdale police headquarters last week resulted in a borough man behind bars and facing charges including simple assault and resisting arrest.

Lansdale police said that shortly before 1 p.m. on June 26, officers went to the police station lobby for a disturbance and encountered Charles Nathaniel Robinson, 28, of the 100 block of Susquehanna Avenue, as well as a woman, both of whom were “out of breath and sweating”; Robinson was also holding the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, police said.

Robinson told officers that he had gotten into an argument with the woman inside his apartment a short time earlier, and that she had taken their daughter and ran out of the house, so Robinson chased them to the police station a few blocks from his residence, according to police, who did not specify the relationship between Robinson and the woman but said that there is no child custody order in place.

Police said the woman told them that during the argument, Robinson pulled her hair, broke her glasses and took her cellphone, ATM card and cash. Officers observed no visible injuries to the woman, police said, but questioned Robinson about the incident, and he denied touching the woman or having any of her items in his possession, though he said he paid for the woman’s phone.

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Officers said they noticed what looked like two cellphones in his pocket and told Robinson so, at which point he gave up the woman’s cellphone but insisted he didn’t have her ATM card or cash. The woman, meanwhile, told police she was returning to the apartment to get her clothes, and the pair departed.

At around 1:25 p.m., police said, someone dialed 911 from Robinson’s residence but hung up the phone, prompting Lansdale officers to go to the apartment and knock on the front door. Robinson answered the door while holding his daughter, and after being informed that a 911 call had been placed from his home, Robinson — who was blocking the doorway — stated that the number was not his, that there was “no problem” and that officers “would need a warrant to enter,” according to police.

When officers told Robinson they would need to verify there was no emergency, Robinson refused to let them inside the apartment, according to police, who said that when they then asked Robinson if the woman was inside, he responded “No.” After being told — based on the 911 hang-up and his behavior — that officers were going to go inside the apartment to check things out, he asked if he was under arrest and then went back inside and shut the door, police said.

After unsuccessfully attempting to reach the woman on her cellphone, police said, officers were preparing to force entry into the apartment when the woman came out of the residence holding her daughter, and officers escorted them to the street.

The woman reported that Robinson was again physical with her when they returned to the apartment, pulling out her hair — police said she showed officers a bald spot near her right temple where her hair was allegedly yanked out, and pieces of her hair were later found inside the residence.

She said that Robinson had again taken her cellphone and stood over her, yelling, after he pulled out her hair, and when she tried to dial 911 from the house phone he took it away from her and threw a child’s scooter at her, forcing her to retreat to the bedroom.

Robinson was taken into custody, and a search of his person yielded the woman’s cellphone and her ATM card, police said.

On June 27, Robinson was arraigned before a district judge on four criminal counts — simple assault, obstructing the administration of law and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors, as well as summary harassment.

Bail was set at 10 percent of $25,000 cash, and Robinson was committed to Montgomery County Correctional Facility, where he remained incarcerated Monday afternoon after failing to post bond.

Robinson is due in District Judge Harold Borek’s Lansdale courtroom on July 8 for a preliminary hearing.